1. Reminiscences
2. Journey
3. Introduction of Aria Automation
4. Aria Automation Deployment Types
5. Initial Configuration Roadmap
6. Conclusion

Reminiscences

In the years 2011-2012, VMware completed the acquisition of Dynamic Ops, a company specializing in automation. Following the acquisition, VMware’s research and development team made improvements to the Dynamic Ops products and subsequently introduced multi-vendor cloud management services rebranded as VMware Cloud Automation Center (VCAC), providing users with a unified console for managing multi-vendor services. To align with market sustainability requirements, VMware upgraded its product to vRealize Automation (vRA), available in versions 6.x, 7.x, and 8.x, offering a range of components within the vRealize suite. Notably, VMware recently unveiled version 8.10.x under the rebranded name Aria Automation.

Journey

This is a three-part blog series. In this compelling journey, we will endeavor to acquire knowledge, implement, and assess the following.

In Part 1, the focus is on explaining the fundamental principles of Aria automation and providing an overview of deployment types and initial configuration roadmaps.

In Part 2, we will cover the in-depth exploration of the initial configuration, including integrating Cloud accounts, creating projects, network profiles, storage profiles, image mapping, flavor mapping & design, and configuration pane.

In Part 3, we will be heavily involved in the comprehensive testing and deployment phases, offering a detailed and hands-on perspective.

Introduction of Aria Automation

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Aria Automation is a cutting-edge multi-cloud and multi-provisioning automation platform that is tailored to meet the diverse needs of modern enterprises. Whether it’s IT services provisioning, virtual machine provisioning automation, or any other service within your organization, Aria Automation is equipped to handle it all with seamless efficiency.

By leveraging our platform, users gain access to a comprehensive catalog page showcasing a wide array of services, empowering them to effortlessly request IAAS, SAAS, or XAAS offerings. This grants businesses the flexibility to tap into services provided across multiple cloud platforms, ensuring that their unique requirements are met with precision and reliability.

Note: – The words that are struck through (such as Cloud Assembly, Service Broker, vRealize Code Stream, vRealize Orchestrator, Salt stack Config) represent the vRealize Automation components. These components were added solely for the purpose of comparing naming conventions between Aria Automation and vRealize Automation.

Aira Automation has 5 no’s of key components: –

1. Aria Automation Assembler
2. Aria Automation Consumption
3. Aria Automation Pipeline
4. Aria Automation Orchestrator
5. Aria Automation Config

1. Aria Automation Assembler: -The service is a cloud-based platform designed to continuously create and deploy a wide range of resources, including machines, applications, and services across multiple cloud environments. It provides support for managing multiple cloud accounts, seamless integration with Kubernetes, and the use of Infrastructure as Code (IAAC) cloud templates (formerly referred to as blueprints). This enables users to efficiently and effectively manage and deploy resources across various cloud platforms.
2. Aria Automation Consumption: – The component in aria automation plays a crucial role in facilitating services such as catalog management within a cloud environment. This allows end users to request and consume services offered via the cloud services portal. The catalog page showcases all available services, including ITSM platforms, virtual machine platforms, and infrastructure platforms, each with its own set of templates. It is possible to aggregate multiple templates into a unified catalog interface.
3. Aria Automation Pipeline: – The DevOps tool, which stands for development and operations, provides an integrated infrastructure pipeline, also known as a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) tool. This tool enables the seamless flow of software development, testing, and deployment processes. With its functionality, it supports continuous delivery, allowing for frequent and reliable software updates and patch deployments. In essence, DevOps plays a pivotal role in the end-to-end process of developing, testing, and preparing software for release in a production environment.
4. Aria Automation Orchestrator: – The orchestration platform is a comprehensive standalone appliance that is proficient in managing intricate day 2 tasks. It is equipped with a sophisticated workflow library that can effectively execute orchestrator workflows, leveraging the functionality of various plugins to streamline and automate a wide range of operations.
5. Aria Automation Config: – This software serves as an automation configuration tool for managing and automating configurations. It adopts a server-client architecture, with the server named the Salt master and the client referred to as a minion. The minions function as agents responsible for executing workloads and overseeing infrastructure within the guest operating system. For instance, in situations where the deployment of 1000 workloads with identical software and security configurations is required, this tool stands as an optimal solution. Additionally, it facilitates compliance and validation of the desired state of configurations.

Aria Automation Deployment Types

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Before delving into NSX with Aria Automation, it is essential to comprehend the various deployment architecture types and their specific use cases.

Aria Automation employs two distinct deployment architectures:

1. Standard Deployment Architecture
2. Clustered Deployment Architecture

1. Standard Deployment Architecture: –

The standard deployments are primarily intended for proof-of-concept and small-scale environments. This deployment comprises the following components:

• VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
• Workspace ONE Access
• VMware Aria Automation

In this standard deployment, three appliances are included to support the necessary infrastructure. The deployment process begins with the deployment of VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle, which serves as the foundation for subsequent deployment and management of Workspace ONE Access and VMware Aria Automation. This sequential deployment approach ensures a well-structured and manageable setup for organizations implementing these components.

2. Clustered Deployment Architecture: –

The clustered deployment is designed for larger enterprises where high availability is paramount. It comprises the following core components:

• One VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance, serving as the central management hub for the deployment.
• Three Workspace ONE Access appliances, which deliver secure access to resources and applications for end-users.
• Three VMware Aria Automation appliances, responsible for automating various processes within the deployment.

To ensure seamless distribution of traffic and high availability, a load balancer is essential for this deployment. This configuration is highly recommended for production environments due to its ability to maintain uninterrupted service.

Initial Configuration Roadmap

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To set up VMware Aria Automation for creating and deploying VMware Aria Automation Templates with infrastructure as a NSX , you will need to configure the following options for a basic setup:

Cloud Account: This option allows you to establish connections with resource providers for provisioning and managing the cloud infrastructure.

Cloud zone: By defining a cloud zone, you can identify a specific set of resources to be provisioned within a cloud account.

Project: This option helps in defining user permissions and resource allocation, determining who can use specific resources within the automation setup.

Network Profiles: Network profiles play a crucial role in VMware Aria Automation by governing network selection during virtual machine provisioning and ensuring the appropriate level of isolation for deployed workloads. These profiles leverage the default IP Address Management (IPAM) in VMware Aria Automation and are instrumental in VMware Aria Automation templates.

Storage Profile: Storage is a vital aspect to consider when strategizing for your environment. Classifying storage into tiers and overseeing it with storage profiles and tags serves to optimize the return on storage investment.

Flavor Mapping: In this we are categorizing and organizing a specific set of deployment sizes for a particular cloud account and region.

Image Mapping: Aggregate and organize an array of pre-defined target operating system specifications crafted specifically for a designated cloud account within a particular geographic region. This grouping aims to streamline the process of selecting and deploying operating systems within the specified cloud environment.

Design/Configuration Pane: the design canvas is where you effortlessly drag components and establish seamless connections to visually draft your VMware Aria Automation template. Moreover, the configuration pane comprises three highly functional tabs that empower you to seamlessly configure the components placed on the design canvas.

Pivotal Phase: During this phase, we meticulously scrutinize and fine-tune the template to identify any potential issues and ensure seamless deployment for its final execution.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to engage with this blog post. In Part 1, the overarching aim is to elucidate the foundational principles of Aria automation. The primary focus of this segment will be to furnish an encompassing overview of various deployment types and initial configuration roadmaps. Subsequently, Part 2 will undertake a more comprehensive exploration of the constituent elements of the initial configuration, thereby delving deeper into this multifaceted subject matter.